Gajeel Doesn't Read?
by Xeylah
Summary: Levy wants Gajeel to read a book she likes... but Gajeel refuses! Natsu says that Gajeel can't read! How can this be? Levy decides that she will teach the stubborn dragon slayer herself! T for Gajeel's bad language. Read and Review! :
1. Chapter 1

Gajeel Doesn't Read?

It was a normal afternoon at the Guild, with the usual fights, drinks, and chatter that followed the name of Fairy Tail wherever the members went. Levy and Lucy sat at the bar discussing the latest book they were reading.

"Oh! Did you like the part where the prince discovers the secrets of his past?" Lucy questioned Levy.

"No," Levy began. "It was so _cliché._ I mean really, I knew from the beginning he wasn't _really_ a prince. I mean- Oh! H-hi Gajeel." Levy looked up as she saw the shadow of the iron dragon slayer standing over them, glowering down at them with his arms crossed.

"You're in my spot." Gajeel stated crossly.

"Oh…" Levy looked and saw that they were indeed sitting in the corner that the gruff man usually sat. "Well, we can move. Right Lu-chan?" Levy turned to her friend.

"Uh… Sure." The blonde smiled, scooting over one seat. Levy followed, leaving an empty seat for the dragon slayer. He stared at it for a moment before sitting down beside the girl.

The two continued their babbling, and Gajeel sighed. He wasn't going to get much peace and quiet anyway.

"What kinda crazy shit are you two talking about anyway?" They stopped their chattering to look at him. The bluenette just smiled though.

"It's this book we're both reading. You should try it Gajeel! I think you'd like it." She tried handing him the book to look at, but he ignored it.

"No thanks," he said taking a drink from the mug Mira brought him while the girls were chatting. "I don't read."

"What? Why not?" Not that Levy was _really _surprised that Gajeel didn't like to read, but still…

"I just don't." He shrugged. But Levy wasn't about to give up just yet.

"C'mon! I think you'd really like it! It's about dragons and everything!"

"Dragons?" That peaked Gajeel's interest. He at least turned back to face her.

"Yeah!" She said excitedly. "There are _lots_ of dragons in this book! So will you at least give it a try? Please?"

Now Gajeel was in trouble. _Damn it! Gajeel you dumbass! Now what're you gonna do? I can't just take the book and pretend to read it, 'cuz then she'll keep asking me questions about it. But now that I opened my damn mouth, she's gonna keep pestering me to read it!_ Gajeel just sighed. "No thanks, Shrimp."

"Aw, c'mon Gajeel!" Levy gave him a pleading look. Then Lucy joined in.

"Yeah Gajeel! It can't hurt to try it!"

Gajeel just grunted and turned away. But they were relentless.

"Gajeel!" Levy whined. "Why not?"

"Because he can't read." Natsu's voice came from behind. All three turned around.

"Natsu!" Lucy exclaimed. "You've been listening this whole time?"

Natsu shrugged. "Long enough to figure out that Gajeel can't read." At first, Lucy thought that Natsu was just trying to pick a fight, but then he sat down beside her, and he looked kinda serious. "Isn't that right, Gajeel?" Lucy and Levy both turned to look at the dark haired man. He looked irritated.

"Shut up Salamander!" he growled. "Mind your own fucking business." He turned his attention back to his drink.

"It's okay, Gajeel." Natsu said with his signature grin. "Igneel never taught me how to read either." Natsu rubbed the back of his head with and embarrassed chuckle. Lucy whipped her head back around to face her fiery partner.

"Wait, you're serious? Neither of you know how to read?" Lucy was shocked. How could she not know this about him!

"No way!" Natsu shouted. "I just said that _Igneel_ never taught me to read. When I joined Fairy Tail, Erza taught me. But when I heard you guys talking, I got thinking. If Igneel never taught me to read, then Metalicana _never_ would've taught Gajeel to read. So who did?" Natsu and Lucy both turned to face Gajeel. He was silent, his stone face hard to read, but Levy had been watching him while Natsu spoke, and she thought she saw something in his eyes. Sorrow.

"Is that true Gajeel?" Levy asked softly. "Do you really not know how to read?"

Gajeel looked at the three of them and huffed angrily. _Curse the Salamander for being smarter than he looks…_"Fine! You win! I'll admit it! Metalicana never taught me how to read, and I never stayed long enough anywhere else to find someone to teach me ok? Happy now?" Gajeel slammed his mug down angrily.

"Gajeel, that's…" Lucy began as she looked towards Levy.

"So sad!" They both exclaimed, their eyes starting to sparkle with tears.

"Gajeel that's so sad that you never had anyone close enough to you to teach you how to read!" Levy said as she looked sadly at the man sitting next to her.

Gajeel just glared at her. "I don't need your pity woman. I got by just fine didn't I?" He asked in a gruff voice.

"Wait…" Lucy started. "How do you do jobs and stuff?"

"Yeah," Levy continued. "If you can't even read the job description…"

"I just grab whatever pays good." Gajeel interrupted. "The more zeroes, the more jewels. I'm not so stupid that I can't even figure _that _out." He turned away from their stares to keep drinking from his iron mug. He'd never admit it, but he was embarrassed that he couldn't read. It bothered him that he was so stupid. But like he'd said, he wasn't so stupid that he couldn't get by.

"You're not stupid." Levy interrupted his thoughts.

"Huh?" He turned to look at her. He'd heard her… He just couldn't believe that he _really _heard her right.

"I said, you're not stupid, Gajeel." Levy stared right into his eyes, with all the seriousness in the world. "It's not your fault that no one ever taught you how to read. That doesn't make you stupid okay?" Gajeel just stared at the blue haired girl, not able to say anything. He was sure that if anyone found out that he couldn't read, they'd think he was stupid. But Natsu didn't. Bunny girl was just smiling at what Levy said, and well… Levy certainly didn't think he was stupid, and she was the smartest person he knew. Levy smiled at him. "I'll teach you ok?" Gajeel was stunned. So he just looked at her, like a deer in the headlights, and nodded. "Great!" Levy grinned even wider. "We'll start tomorrow!" And with that, she picked up her books, and left. "See you tomorrow Lu-chan! Bye Natsu!" They waved and then got up and left themselves. Gajeel just stared at their backs as they walked away.

"What was that all about?" Pantherlily asked as he hopped up beside Gajeel. Gajeel looked down at his partner and sighed, but Pantherlily noticed the slight smirk on the dragon slayer's face.

"What have I gotten myself into?" Gajeel wondered as he downed the rest of his drink. He stood up, slamming his mug down on the counter. "Let's go home Lily."

"Okay, but you're going to tell me all about it as soon as we get there." Lily said as he sprouted his wings.

"Sure, sure," mumbled Gajeel as he sauntered out of the guild, Lily flying behind him.

XXXXxxxx

As Lucy walked back to her apartment, Natsu walked beside her in silence with Happy circling overhead. "Natsu?"

"Yeah Lucy?" Natsu turned his head to look at her.

"That was a really nice thing you did for Gajeel back there."

"What do you mean?" He looked ahead as they walked.

"I mean, you didn't make fun of Gajeel or anything. You were really smart and figured out what he was hiding and you were really nice and helped him." Lucy looked at her partner and smiled. "I didn't know you had it in you."

Natsu chuckled and turned his head up to the sky. "I guess… I just understood how he felt. And I knew that nobody else really would. I was embarrassed when everyone found out that Igneel never taught me to read. Igneel was a great dad, and I didn't want anyone to think badly of him, and I _really _didn't want anyone to think that I was stupid. But because I was in Fairy Tail, I was among friends, and Erza taught me to read. But Gajeel… didn't have anybody after Metalicana left. And Gajeel's pride would never allow him to admit not knowing how to read, or to ask for help. But he's a part of Fairy Tail now, so he doesn't need to be alone. Does that make sense?" Natsu turned back to look at Lucy.

Lucy smiled at him. "Wow, Natsu! I never knew you could say anything so deep!" Natsu just threw his head back and laughed. Lucy grabbed his hand and started to pull him away from their current path.

"Whoa, Lucy! Where are we going? You're apartment is that way!"

Lucy laughed at her gullible, goofy partner. "We're going out to eat, my treat!"

"Yeah! Food!" Natsu cheered so loud, Lucy was sure all of Magnolia could hear.

**AN: Well I hope everybody likes this! Sorry for the random NatsuxLucy moment at the end, I know it was supposed to be GajeelxLevy but I just couldn't help it. So many fanfic writers make Natsu SO stupid and it makes me mad! He's not stupid; he's just a goofball So anyway please review and lemme know what you think! I might be talked into writing more chapters if I get good responses so be kind! Love ya fanfic readers!**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Wow! I can't believe how many reviews, favorites, and follows I got just overnight! You guys are AWESOME! Thanks for reviewing and encouraging me to continue this fic! Just as a side note, I changed my user name from Ima Gamer to Xeylah, so don't be confused! Anyway… ON WITH THE SHOW!**

Chapter 2

Gajeel and Pantherlily made their way down the streets of Magnolia towards the guild. It was earlier than Gajeel was used to going in, but he figured Levy would already be there; ready to start his reading lessons. Pantherlily broke the comfortable silence between them, though.

"You ready to start learning how to read?"

Gajeel just grunted in response. He wasn't in the mood for this. He was sure that before the day was over the whole guild would know about his reading lessons with Levy, and he wasn't too thrilled about the comments that were sure to follow. The two entered the guild and almost immediately, Gajeel's eyes went to where the tiny blue haired girl was sitting.

Pantherlily flew off with a "Have fun Gajeel!" Gajeel glared at his cat as Lily perched on Wendy's shoulder. He was _not _going to have fun today. Not even close.

"Gajeel!" Levy called from the bar. He looked back over to her as she smiled and waved. At least _one _of them was in a good mood. He walked over to her and cautiously sat down, eyeing the array of books she had spread out… _all over_ the counter. There were piles upon piles of books.

"What's up with all the books?" he dared to ask.

Levy frowned at him. "I promised to teach you how to read, remember?" Seriously. How could he forget already? She was definitely going to have her work cut out for her.

"Tch. I know that." Gajeel rolled his eyes. "Just, why are there _so many_?"

Levy just smiled. "Trust me. I know what I'm doing." Truthfully though, Levy had no idea what she was doing. Just because she loved to read, didn't mean that she knew how to teach others to read. She spent hours the night before trying to figure out where to even start. At first she went to the library and looked for books on learning how to read and write, but they were all children's books. She didn't think Gajeel would like that very much, and she didn't want to scare him away. So she went through all the books in her apartment and found some that she thought Gajeel would like. There were lots of books about dragons, and she knew that would keep his interest. But she couldn't just teach him the alphabet and say "That's it! Now read!" She had a feeling that wouldn't be very helpful. She'd have to start small and then progress from there. Well, she knew that's what she _had_ to do, but how to do it? Levy didn't have a clue.

Suddenly, Gajeel snapped his fingers in front of her face. "Oi! Levy! You still here?"

Levy blushed as she realized she TOTALLY spaced out. "Ha ha, yeah, sorry. I was just thinking about where to start."

Gajeel just stared at her. She really didn't know what she was doing, did she?

"Okay!" She clapped her hands together. "I've got an idea!"

"Okay, what is it?" Gajeel gave her a suspicious look.

"We'll start with your name!" _Good idea Levy. That's what everybody starts with, right?_

"Uh… okay." Gajeel was hesitant. He felt _really _stupid. Seriously! He didn't even know how to write his own _name!_

Levy pulled out a notebook from somewhere in the ridiculous piles of books, and started scribbling something onto the paper. "See?" she said, sliding the notebook towards him.

Gajeel looked down at the paper, which had _Gajeel Redfox _written at the top in Levy's dainty handwriting. "Really? That's how my name is spelled?"

"Um, yeah I think so. I mean, if you don't know how to spell it that's my best guess." Levy smiled at him as he stared blankly at the paper.

"H-how did you do that?" Gajeel asked with a look of concentration on his face.

Levy smiled. "I'll show you!" She scooted closer to him and moved the pencil slowly. "First is the G." She looked up at Gajeel, his eyes not moving from the paper. "Now you try!" She said, handing him the pencil. With concentration, he gripped the pencil in his fist and started to copy Levy's example. He was _almost_ finished, when SNAP! Gajeel looked down at the shattered piece of wood in his hands. He broke the pencil. Not like "Oh no, now I have to go sharpen it." But like, the pencil was _broken_. In _half_.

"Uhm, Levy?" Gajeel looked to the girl beside him.

Levy tried _really _hard to stifle a laugh. "Yeah?" she responded with a snicker. She wasn't doing a very good job of not laughing.

"I think I broke it." Gajeel said, staring at the pile of splinters he had in his hand.

That was it. Levy couldn't hold back anymore. She erupted into a fit of giggles, which received some stares from nearby guild members.

"You're laughing at me!" Gajeel accused. _Well, duh! Of course she's laughing at you! You couldn't even finish writing the first letter of your name without breaking something!_

"No, no I'm not." She said in between giggles. "I'll just," she laughed even harder as she dug through her bag. "I'll just get you another one okay?" She continued to giggle as Gajeel growled and took the pencil from her. "Here," she said calming down her laughter. "Try holding it like _this_." Levy took hold of his hand and manipulated his fingers until he was holding the pencil correctly. Gajeel couldn't help but notice how _soft_ her hands were… and how small… Gajeel turned his attention back to the paper and started to concentrate. He finished the G, then a, and started the j… SNAP! Mira squealed as half of a pencil flew past her head and broke a glass on the shelf behind her.

"DAMN IT!" Gajeel growled as he threw down the other half of the broken pencil. Levy burst out laughing, wiping tears from her eyes and trying hard to _breathe!_ Gajeel growled and crossed his arms, waiting for her to calm down. "I can't do this!" Gajeel yelled.

Levy looked up at him and just smiled. "Yes you _can_ Gajeel. Here." She took his rough hand in her own two, small hands and put another pencil in his palm. "You just have to be a little more gentle." She moved his fingers slowly around the wood, and then placed her hands around his. "See? Just like that. The pencil's not going to jump out of your hands and run away, so you don't have to grip it so tightly ok?" She grinned up at him as he gave her a skeptical look. Three hours and 17 pencils later, Gajeel managed to finish writing his name, Levy, Pantherlily, Fairy Tail, and quite a few other guild members' names.

"My hand hurts! And I'm hungry!" Gajeel complained as he set down his slightly damaged pencil.

"Well, it is lunch time so I guess we could take a break. I'm so proud of you Gajeel! You're doing so well." Levy beamed at her pupil.

"Really?" Gajeel questioned.

"Yeah! You're really starting to get the hang of it!"

"But wait, I thought I was supposed to be learning how to _read_. So far, all I've done is break some pencils."

Levy laughed. "It's ok. Reading and writing go together, so you're learning how to do both at the same time!"

Gajeel looked kind of confused about that, but before he could ask anything, Lucy bounded over to where they were sitting.

"Levy! Let's go to lunch ok?" Lucy beamed at her. Lucy was a girl on a mission, and she had a _plan_.

"Um, sure Lu-chan." Levy hesitated as she glanced towards Gajeel.

"Gajeel! Why don't you come too?" Lucy's plan was beginning to go into action.

"Tch. With you two girls talking about books the whole time? No thanks…" Gajeel looked away. There was no WAY he'd go to lunch with those two chatter boxes.

"Aw c'mon Gajeel! Natsu and Gray are coming too!" Lucy coaxed.

"Huh?" Natsu and Gray looked up from their fight with each other.

"Food." Lucy said simply, knowing that should be enough to get their attention.

The two stood up and walked over with an "Okay" and a "Sure, why not". This of course got Juvia's attention, as planned, and Juvia began to freak out.

"Whaaaaat? Gray-sama is going to lunch with Juvia's love rival! How can this be?"

"Juvia!" Lucy called out. "Do you want to come too?"

Juvia was immediately by their side with hearts in her eyes. "Of course! Thank you for inviting Juvia!"

"Great!" Lucy clapped her hands together. "Let's go!"

Even though Gajeel had said no, he still followed as the six of them exited the guild to find a good place to eat.

_Yes!_ Lucy thought. _Triple Date Mission accomplished!_


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Yay! Chapter 3 already, can you believe it? I certainly can't. Well, for you my fans, I will continue writing as long as I have ideas. So get ready for some more Gajeel x Levy cuteness! (They're my favorite couple, in case you couldn't tell ;) Also note that this takes place after Tenrou Island and time skip, but before the Magic Games. Anyway… On to Chapter 3!**

The six Fairy Tail mages walked down the streets of Magnolia, looking for a good spot to eat lunch. The two dragon slayers were adamant about finding a place that would serve them iron and fire, but they were out voted, considering that the rest of the group ate normal food. Lucy also pointed out the fact that they _could_ eat food like a normal person once in a while, much to their dismay.

"So, Gajeel," Natsu began. "How are your reading lessons going?"

"Ugh!" Gajeel face-palmed. "Don't even _ask_!"

"He's doing just fine." Levy said with a smile. "Although he did break a few pencils…" Gajeel groaned.

"Hey," Natsu said. "Don't complain. Levy's got to be a WAY nicer teacher than Erza."

At that, Gray laughed. "Oh, don't even get me _started_. It was hilarious to watch Erza trying to teach that knuckle head anything."

"Hey!" Natsu held his fist up towards Gray. "You wanna fight, ice cube?"

"Bring it on, flame brain!" Gray shouted back.

"Gray-sama! Your shirt!"

"Aah crap! Where'd it go?"

Lucy sighed. Her plan to get the six of them out to lunch together had worked, but she wasn't sure how long it was going to last. "Hey! There's a good spot to eat!" Lucy pointed to a little sandwich shop near the park. Natsu and Gray stopped their bickering at the sight of food, and raced towards the door.

"Tch. Morons." Gajeel scoffed and followed after them.

The three girls sighed. "You know?" Lucy started. "We're in love with a bunch of idiots."

"Yeah." Levy sighed longingly, while Juvia just stared at the still shirtless Gray.

The group ate lunch and stayed late into the afternoon, just chatting, laughing, and being rambunctious like Fairy Tail mages are. They stayed so long that they had to order dinner because Natsu and Gajeel got hungry again. (Everyone else was hungry too, but Natsu and Gajeel kept complaining about it.) They ate dinner and stayed late until it started getting dark. Natsu walked Lucy back to her apartment, while Gajeel and Gray left with Levy and Juvia.

"Well," Gray said as they stopped at the Fairy Hills entrance. "See you ladies tomorrow!" He waved and turned with a smirk on his face, shoved his hands in his pockets and walked away. Juvia made some sort of happy, squealing noise and ran inside, leaving Gajeel and Levy alone outside.

"That was fun!" Levy said as she smiled up at the tall man. "We should do it again sometime soon."

"Hm," was Gajeel's only response, although he nodded slightly.

"Uhm… so…" Levy looked down at her feet. "Sh-should we meet at the library tomorrow? It's quieter there, so maybe we'll get more done. But that's only if you want to." She looked up, concerned that he wouldn't want to be alone with her at the library, away from all their guild members. Maybe he'd get the wrong impression? Although, he _was _standing there alone with her right now…

"Sure," Gajeel shrugged, interrupting Levy's thoughts. "See ya tomorrow Shrimp!" He ruffled her hair and then turned away, when Levy gasped. Gajeel whipped his head around to see Levy's hands covering her mouth, concern in her eyes. "What's wrong Levy?" Gajeel asked, now concerned himself.

"My- my books! Oh, I'm so _stupid!_ I left everything back at the guild!" Levy kneaded her hands into her hair. "Stupid, stupid, _stupid!_"

"Whoa, Shrimp! Calm down!" Gajeel laughed and put a hand on her shoulder. "We'll stop by the guild in the morning and then we'll head over to the library. No biggie." He gave her a wide toothy grin.

Levy gulped, surprised at his hand on her shoulder. "Mm" Levy nodded and gave him a weak smile.

Gajeel chuckled and turned with a wave. "Bye Levy."

When Levy was back in her apartment, she couldn't help but blush remembering the concern in his voice when he thought something was wrong. She smiled to herself, maybe he did care just a little more than she'd thought…

Gajeel entered his tiny apartment on the edge of town and flipped on the light to find Pantherlily sitting on their couch with his little arms crossed and a smug look on his face. "Where've _you_ been, hmm?"

"Tch. I've been out." Gajeel replied, plopping down on the couch beside his partner.

"I can see that." Pantherlily said as he climbed onto Gajeel's lap. "So how'd it go?"

"Wha'dya mean?" Gajeel rested his hand on Pantherlily's head.

"I mean your date with Levy."

Gajeel grimaced. "What? No… That wasn't a date."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, it was just a reading lesson." But Gajeel couldn't help but think… No. He would've known if he was on a date, right?

"What about after the lesson? Hmm?" Pantherlily looked up at Gajeel for an answer.

"Well…" Gajeel narrowed his eyes in concentration. "We went out to eat… but Bunny girl, Salamander, Ice brain, and the Crazy water chick were all there too so I don't think that counts as a date, does it?" Gajeel looked to his cat for advice.

"Hmmm…" Pantherlily put his chin on his paw in thought. "Sounds like a triple date to me. Everybody went with somebody in particular, am I right?"

Now that Gajeel thought about it, he couldn't help but notice what the bunny girl did. She obviously went with Natsu, which at first didn't seem strange to him because, well, they're partners. And once Gray was going, of course Juvia would tag along. She stalked him everywhere. But now that Gajeel thought about it, that left him with…

"Face it Gajeel, would you even have gone if Levy didn't go?" Lily asked him.

No. No he wouldn't have. Gajeel knew it as soon as Lily said it. He went with the lunatics because bookworm was going. Gajeel didn't say anything, but Lily really didn't need an answer anyway.

"What happened after you all left the restaurant then?"

"Well," Gajeel thought out loud. "Salamander took Bunny girl home, and Ice brain and I…''

"Walked Levy and Juvia back to Fairy Hills?" Pantherlily finished. The cat smiled to himself. "What then?"

"Gray walked off, Juvia ran inside, and then Levy and I…"

"Kissed?"

"No! Lemme finish damn it!"

Pantherlily chuckled. "Okay continue."

"She said we should meet at the library tomorrow for our reading lesson, remembered that she left her books at the guild and started freaking out. I told her not to worry about it, and that we'd get her books in the morning and then head out to the library. Then I left. That's it." Gajeel concluded his story by crossing his arms.

"I bet you thought it was pretty cute how she worried about missing her books." Pantherlily said smugly, crossing his own arms and looking up at his partner.

"Sh-Shut up stupid cat!" Gajeel yelled, standing up to prove his point.

Pantherlily just smiled. "You're blushing."

Gajeel growled and stormed off to his bedroom. "I'm going to bed!" He shouted. Gajeel laid down on his back, crossed his arms, and closed his eyes. He soon felt his cat lay down on his chest, and was glad. He wouldn't want Lily to be mad at him, or think that Gajeel was mad. He moved his hand to Pantherlily's head, and the two of them quickly fell asleep.

**AN: Yay! Chapter 3 finished. Phew! Never knew I could write this much in one day! I won't be able to update tomorrow because I'll be out of town, but don't worry GaLe lovers! I will try very hard to update on Tuesday. Thank you all SO MUCH for the epic reviews, follows, and favorites! I LOVE YOU ALL! Anyways I think that's all I have to say, other than please review more! That's what keeps us fanfic writers writing so always review your favorite stories! Well, that's enough of my fangirl babbling for one day. Xeylah, out! :D**


	4. Chapter 4

** AN: TADAAA! Here you go my lovely readers! It's finally here! Sorry it took so long. School, homework, laziness, etc. all got in the way of this chapter's completion. But it's here! And it's extra long too! You're welcome x) Hope you enjoy!**

Gajeel awoke that morning to hear Pantherlily in the kitchen, already making breakfast. Gajeel groaned as he dragged himself out of bed. He was _exhausted_! Who knew that anyone could be so tired from _learning_ of all things. Oh well, Gajeel wasn't going to give up that easily. He was determined not to disappoint Levy who was trying so hard to teach him to read. Gajeel walked into the kitchen, sat down, and started eating. He wasn't really sure _what_ he was eating… but Pantherlily made it so it was probably safe. Plus, it tasted really good.

"Well, good morning to you too Gajeel." The small cat said as he grabbed another plate of food. Seriously. The dragon slayer just ate whatever was in front of him, not even wondering what it was or where it came from.

Gajeel grunted. "This is stupid."

"What is?" Lily asked, knowing Gajeel didn't mean that the breakfast was stupid. He always talked with Gajeel in the mornings and at night when no one else was around. For some reason, Gajeel told the cat everything he was thinking at those times of day. Lily told Gajeel about his life as well. There was a certain strange bond between the eksheed and dragon slayers. For whatever reason, Gajeel and Lily found great companionship with each other, just as Natsu did with Happy and Wendy did with Charle. In any case, Gajeel was about to tell Lily whatever it was that was bothering him, and Lily could tell.

"Me. Trying to learn how to read of all things. This is stupid. I-"Gajeel cut off and sighed. "I really don't think I can do this without disappointing her." Gajeel frowned. He was just thinking how he wasn't going to give up. How he wasn't going to let her down. But he was going to let her down, wasn't he?

As if reading his thoughts, Pantherlily spoke up. "Wouldn't giving up be letting her down even more so?"

Gajeel sighed again. "I know."

Pantherlily looked at his partner. "You can do this Gajeel. You've done far more difficult things than this before."

Gajeel started to think. He had done harder things. It was hard for him to swallow his pride and earn the forgiveness of the Fairy Tail mages. It was even harder for him to feel like he could ever earn _her_ forgiveness. But he had done all that, hadn't he? She had forgiven him… at least to some extent. Otherwise she wouldn't be helping him now. Gajeel scoffed. "Stupid fairies."

"What do you mean?" Lily looked at his confusing friend.

"After all I've done to them; they treat me like their nakama. They fight over everything, and yet when something as stupid as "Gajeel can't read" comes up… they don't even blink twice. They just treat it like another day in the guild. You know, yesterday I was _dreading_ walking through those doors because I knew what everyone would say. And none of them said a word. They didn't even give me a second glance. I just…" Gajeel sighed and hung his head. "I just don't understand. They don't make any sense to me." _Especially her._

Pantherlily smiled. "I understand what you mean. The people in your life previously would have reacted differently to your illiteracy, but in Fairy Tail, they understand that it seriously bothers you and so they support you instead of mocking you. They care about you Gajeel."

"Why? Why should they care?" Gajeel put his head on the table. This conversation was giving him a headache.

"Do you want to know what I think?" Lily asked.

"Please."

"Fairy Tail mages need each other. That's what makes them strong. And you need them Gajeel, whether you want to admit it or not. And that's why you fit right it."

Gajeel just left his head on the table, thinking. Actually, he didn't know _what _to think. So he just sat there, waiting for Pantherlily to tell him what to think.

Pantherlily hopped up onto Gajeel's shoulder. "Come on, Gajeel. We should head to the guild now. Levy's waiting on us."

XXXXxxxx

Levy was indeed waiting for Gajeel to show up. She was sitting at the guild with her pile of books put into her bag (mostly… some were stacked up on the table) watching the door, just waiting for Gajeel to show up.

"Levy!" Lucy shouted as she ran to say hi to her best friend.

"Oh," Levy turned away from the door. "Hey, Lu-chan."

"Waiting for Gajeel?" Lucy asked with a knowing smile.

"Uhm… yeah. I guess he slept in or something." Levy looked down at her hands folded in her lap. "I mean, he wouldn't _forget_ right?"

"Right." Lucy assured her. "And even if he did, Pantherlily would make sure he came."

Levy smiled. "You're right."

"Anyway," Lucy started. "I have something important to talk to you about, so you should sleep over at my place tonight okay?"

"Yay! Sleep over!" Levy squealed. "That sounds so fun Lu-chan!"

The two girls giggled and discussed their plans for later that night, and were completely oblivious to the dark figure standing behind them. "Hey." Gajeel rumbled.

Levy jumped, turned, and smiled. "Gajeel! You're here!"

"Tch. Obviously." Gajeel stood there with his arms crossed.

_I wonder what's got him in such a mood. More than usual anyway… _Levy thought. "Ready to go?" She tilted her head with a cheery smile.

Gajeel grunted and picked up her bag and the pile of books on the table.

"Ok! Let's go!" And with that, Levy marched out of the guild with Gajeel and her books trailing behind her.

They walked to the library in a comfortable silence, with Gajeel carrying Levy's things and Levy walking closely beside him. They arrived at the library and found a table in the back to set down all of Levy's books. As Levy arranged all her books and whatever else was in that bag of books, Gajeel looked around. More like listened because all that there was to see was books. Books, books, and shelves of books.

_I bet Shrimp loves this place._ Well duh. It was a library. What did he expect? Gajeel's ears twitched as he thought he heard something. He tried to hear what it was, in fact, he tried to hear _anything_. It was _really_ quiet in here. Actually, it bothered Gajeel. He was used to the obnoxiously loud and annoying guild, so every little noise in here was putting him on edge. Gajeel sighed to himself. Today was going to be a long day.

"Hi Levy-chan! Who's your friend?" A male voice came from behind where Gajeel was sitting.

Correction. Today was going to be a _very _long day. The man didn't even get three words into his sentence before Gajeel decided he didn't like the man.

Levy turned around in her seat to look at who had called her name. "Oh, hi Hector! This is Gajeel." Levy looked back at Gajeel with a grin.

_Hector? What kind of stupid name is that…? _Gajeel just grunted as a way of greeting.

"Well hi there Gajeel! As Levy said, I'm Hector! I work here at the library so I know Levy pretty well, but I've never seen you around before. What brings you here?" Hector wouldn't get that obnoxious smile off of his face the whole time he was talking. It irritated Gajeel. Oh, but that wasn't the _only _thing that bothered Gajeel. No, there were two other things that bothered Gajeel even more than the stupid grin. The second was how he just phrased that last sentence. So he knows Levy pretty well, does he? And he's never seen Gajeel around before, huh? Well, to Gajeel, that seemed like a threat along the lines of "Hey, what is this delinquent doing here when this is the only time I get to spend with Levy?" But hey, maybe Gajeel was reading into it too much.

On the other hand, there was still that one thing that enforced Gajeel's negative instinct. Hector's smell. Gajeel didn't like the man's smell _at all._ He reeked of desire. The man liked Levy. No, he _wanted _Levy. And for some reason, Gajeel took offense at that.

Levy saw Gajeel stiffen in his seat, but just assumed it was because of Hector's question. They _were _here so she could teach Gajeel to _read_ and all… so she was pretty sure he wouldn't want to go advertising it to people he just met. "We're doing research for the Master." Levy said with a cock-eyed smile.

Now _that _surprised Gajeel. He wasn't sure _what _he expected her to say, he didn't really expect her to say anything at all, but he certainly didn't expect _that._

"Oh, do you need any help? I could find some books for you or something." Hector jumped at the chance to do anything for Levy. He was like puppy, and it disgusted Gajeel. He couldn't help but send a slight glare in Hector's general direction.

_Stupid librarian…_ Gajeel sulked. _Trying to be helpful…_

"No thanks Hector, I brought my own books!" Levy grinned and gestured to the mountain of books on the table. "We actually came here because it's much quieter than the guild."

_Ha! Take __that_ _Hector! She doesn't need your help!_ Gajeel smirked to himself.

"Oh," Hector's face fell slightly. "Well, let me know if you need anything!" Hector then, intelligently, took his leave with a slight wave and a dirty look directed at Gajeel.

Gajeel returned Hector's look with a full-forced glare. As soon as he was out of hearing range, Gajeel turned his attention back to Levy. "Uhm, thanks."

Levy looked at him and smiled. She knew Gajeel was already self conscious about this whole thing, so anything she could do to make him feel at ease, she would try to do. "Alright! Let's get started! Today we'll practice the whole alphabet!"

Gajeel didn't look that excited, but he said nothing, so she started showing him each of the letters again. When it was Gajeel's turn, he took the pencil in his hand and got halfway through the alphabet before the inevitable happened. His pencil broke. Again. Of course. This was getting really old…

"DAMN IT!" Gajeel growled in a voice that boomed through the library.

"Shhhh! Gajeel this is a _library!_" Levy hissed in a half whisper, half shout. "You can't just shout out like that!"

Gajeel blinked at her, not seeming to understand the concept that libraries were supposed to be quiet. "Oh, sorry…" He mumbled.

Levy relaxed a little bit then. She smiled at him again. Jeez, how much could this girl smile? Not that Gajeel minded her smile… not like annoying librarian's… Levy started digging through her bag then, mumbling something about how silly for her to forget… something…

"Ah-HA!" Levy exclaimed as she pulled a metal-looking pen out of her bag. "Here!" she shoved it into Gajeel's hand. "You shouldn't be able to break the pen as easily!"

Gajeel grinned his signature grin. "Great idea shrimp!" He used his other hand to ruffle her hair. "I knew you were the smart one!"

Levy smiled and turned her attention back to the papers in front of them. "Alright, now finish writing the alphabet and then we'll try learning it a different way!"

Gajeel nodded and finished copying the alphabet, and hey! No broken pen!

"Ok!" Levy clapped her hands together. "Now we'll see if you can remember them all!"

Gajeel winced slightly. All of them? There were a lot… But he could do this!

Levy got out note cards that had all of the letters on them. She showed them to him one at a time so he could tell her what letter it was and what sounds it made. Things were going just fine until Gajeel got to the letter Q.

"Uhm… O?" Gajeel guessed.

Levy shook her head. "Try again."

Gajeel furrowed his eyebrows as he stared at the flashcard. It _looked _like an O… Maybe if he stared at long enough and hard enough, he would remember. Gajeel was lost in concentration when he heard Levy squeal his named.

"_Gajeel!"_

"What?" Gajeel looked at her dumbfounded, until he felt something wet run down his lower lip. So he licked it, and his face scrunched up. _Ew! What is that awful taste? Is that… Ink?_ Gajeel looked down at them pen in his hand. Scratch that. _Half_ of a pen. He was concentrating so hard that he didn't even notice he had eaten it.

Levy shrieked as ink started to drip from the remaining half of the pen. "Gajeel! Don't let it get on the books!" She tried to shove his hand away from the table, but it was no use.

"Wha-? OH SHIT!" Gajeel panicked and popped the other half of the pen in his mouth. But ink tasted _disgusting_ so he couldn't help but make a face.

Levy tried to shush him for yelling, but couldn't stop laughing. "G-Gajeel!" She stifled more laughter. "N-no yelling! L-lib-brary!" But she couldn't keep herself from laughing anymore. She burst out into a fit of giggles.

"H-hey!" Gajeel stood up abruptly, knocking the table over. Which of course made Levy laugh harder. "Whadya laughing at Shrimp!" Gajeel growled.

Levy choked on more laughter. "Y-your face! I c-can't help it!"

"Oi! Ink tastes bad ok?" Gajeel shouted.

Levy was laughing so hard she fell out of her chair and landed on the floor with a thud.

"H-hey! Stop laughing Shrimp!"

Suddenly, a man cleared his throat behind them and they both froze. Levy stopped laughing and Gajeel turned around to see Hector glaring at them… well, more like just Gajeel.

"I'm sorry, Levy, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave. You're disturbing the other patrons… I know you're not usually like this so I would let it slide but…" Hector left his sentence hanging as he looked straight at Gajeel.

_Oh this piece of shit is going DOWN!_

Levy suddenly became very flustered and her cheeks turned bright red. "Oh, oh I'm so sorry! D-don't worry! We'll be out of your way. Sorry! So sorry…" Levy fumbled to pick up all her books and papers as Gajeel growled at Hector. He seriously would have punched the man right then, if Levy hadn't started to hand him piles and piles of loose books.

Levy grabbed Gajeel's arm and started to drag him towards the door, with Hector following as if to make sure they left. Gajeel did NOT appreciate being escorted out of a library of all things, so he growled and sent a glare behind him.

"Hey Levy?" Hector stopped Levy before she could leave. Levy turned to look at him, her face still pink from embarrassment at being asked to leave the library.

"Uhm, yeah?" Levy asked him.

"Before you leave, can I talk to you for a second? Without," Hector glanced up at Gajeel, who growled in return.

"S-sure." Levy said looking briefly at Gajeel to assure him it was ok.

Hector took Levy aside and started to talk to her, but with Gajeel's heightened hearing he could hear every word.

"Levy," Hector began. "Why are you hanging out with him? I mean, you know who he is don't you? You know the kind of stuff he's done. He used to be in a dark guild for goodness' sake! You of all people shouldn't be hanging out with a monster like-"

SMACK! Even without Gajeel's super hearing, everyone in the library could hear the slap that landed on the librarians face.

"How DARE you say who I can or can't hang out with! You have no right! You, you…" Levy clenched her fists and was shaking with anger. "You JERK!" Levy turned on her heel and stormed out of the library with Gajeel right behind her, only stopping long enough to send an evil smirk back at the befuddled Hector.

As the library door slammed behind them though, Gajeel couldn't help but feel a little bit guilty. Not about Hector, no, he got what was coming to him. But as Gajeel looked down at the fuming bookworm beside him, he actually felt slightly responsible for getting Levy kicked out of the library. Levy, the most obsessively book loving nerd in the whole world, just got kicked out of a fucking library. Because of him.

_Great, Gajeel. Just great…_

**AN: It's done! It's finally done and I'm actually happy with how it turned out! So I hope the rest of you love it as much as I do… Otherwise this could be awkward… Thank you to all of my awesome readers and reviewers, ESPECIALLY those who make suggestions and give criticisms and encouragement. I LOVE YOU ALL! Especially my best friend, JoeiMarie, who makes me get off my lazy but to write! Again, thank you all for putting up with my rambling author's notes. Pretty please review! Hopefully the next chapter will come soon! It all depends on my homework… Anyway, I need some food! Xeylah, out! ;)**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: It's been FOREVER since I've updated this… No excuses this time, I've just been busy. Without further ado, here is chapter five of "Gajeel Doesn't Read?"!**

They walked in silence for a bit. He didn't know what to say. "Shrimp…" He began.

She looked up at him and smiled. "It's _fine_ Gajeel. Don't worry about it, okay?"

He just nodded and continued walking. Sometimes, he just didn't understand her. In fact, _all the time_. What was _wrong _with her anyway? "Why are you doing this?" He looked down at her in confusion.

She just rolled her eyes at him. "I've told you a million times Gajeel!" She wanted to _help _him and she'd told him again and again that she really didn't _mind_ doing this for him. "And hey, did you ever think that I might actually _enjoy_ hanging out with you?" They both stopped. Oops.

"Oh? Did the Shrimp just say that she actually _likes_ hanging out with me?" Gajeel raised an eyebrow at her.

Levy blushed and looked away as she started walking again. "Maybe I would… if you didn't tease me so much!" she accused.

Gajeel laughed "Admit it Shrimp! You like it when I tease you."

"Do not!"

"Yeah ya do!"

"Nobody likes to be teased Gajeel."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, really." She looked up at him and smiled as he laughed at her. "But, yes Gajeel, I do like spending time with you."

He stopped again and just looked at her like she was crazy.

"What?" Levy asked.

"You're crazy woman." Gajeel shook his head and kept walking.

Levy huffed and walked faster to keep up with him. "Why? Don't you like spending time with me Gajeel?"

The moment of truth. He looked down at her again, but kept walking as he spoke. "Look Shrimp, learning to read ain't no walk in the park for me…" He drug out the next words like they were wrong for him to say. "But… Yes, Levy, I like spending time with you too." He didn't look at her for that last part. The silence got awkward though, so after a few moments he glanced down to catch her smiling oddly at him.

"What?" he growled.

"Nothing." She grinned wider. "I'm just… glad."

Gajeel stared at her, but then rolled his eyes. And then he stopped. Again.

"What now?" Levy looked up at him, confused.

"We're here." Gajeel grunted.

Levy looked at her surroundings. This wasn't Fairy Hills, this was Lucy's house….

"Oh! That's right! I told Lucy I'd sleep over tonight!" Levy smiled at Gajeel. He remembered! He actually _listened _to what she had to say! "Thanks Gajeel!"

Gajeel rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever." He started to hand her back her books when she kissed him on the cheek, well more like the jaw because she was short. She basically had to climb up his arm to reach him, but she did. And then she blushed, grabbed her books, and ran inside. And Gajeel was left standing there like the idiot he was sure he was. And he probably stood there for several minutes before he gathered what was left of his consciousness… and walked away. Because there was nothing else he could do, other than stand there like an idiot, because she was gone. She kissed him on the cheek and then went inside. And Gajeel had absolutely no idea how to react. He'd have to ask Lily.

XXXXxxxx

Levy ran to Lucy's room and flung open the door. "Luuuuuuuu chaaaaaaaan!" Levy called for her best friend and dropped the books down on her friend's desk.

Lucy came out of her bathroom wearing a robe and with her hair wrapped in a towel. Why did she always seem to be taking a bath? "Oh, Levy chan you're here!" Lucy smiled at her best friend. Then she saw how flushed she looked and grew concerned. "Levy are you all right? Your face is all red."

"Eep!" Levy brought her hands up to cover her cheeks, blushing even harder. "Oh Lucy I'm so embarrassed!" Levy buried her face in her hands.

Lucy grabbed Levy's arm and guided her over to her bed to sit down. "What happened? Was it something with Gajeel? I swear, if he-"  
"No, Lu chan, it wasn't him. He didn't do anything, I mean, he did. He got us kicked out of the library but then he said he liked spending time with me! And then we got here I kissed him!" Levy had said everything so fast, Lucy was having trouble understanding it all.

"Wait, hold on. Start with the library. What happened?"

"Well," Levy began. "We kinda got kicked out, the librarian said we were being too loud. And destructive."

"Oh really?" A suspicious grin crawled up Lucy's face. "And what _exactly _was the cause of all this... _noise_?" Lucy asked with a raised eyebrow.

Levy blushed again. "Lucy! Don't make it sound dirty!" Lucy started to giggle evilly (if that's even possible). "S-stop! Lu chan! We're Fairy Tail mages! We're loud and destructive wherever we go!" Lucy laughed but calmed down enough to ask for more of the story.

"Well…" Levy looked down at her hands. "The librarian said that I shouldn't be hanging out with a guy like Gajeel…. So…"

Lucy was on the edge of her seat. "What? What happened next? Did Gajeel kill him?"

Levy looked up. "No… I, uh, slapped him?"

Lucy looked at her friend in disbelief. "You… slapped him?" Levy nodded. "Did you slap him _hard_?" Levy nodded again. Lucy just stared at her for a moment, before punching her fist into the air and cheering. "Go Levy chan!" Levy smiled and laughed before Lucy continued. "Then what?"

"Then we started walking here." Levy continued her story. "I could tell he felt bad about it all, so I- I told him I liked hanging out with him."

"Oooh! What did he say?" Lucy asked jumping up and down with excitement.

Levy grinned, "He said he liked spending time with me too!" Then her face fell. "Then… we got here and… I kissed him."

Lucy stared blankly at her friend for a moment before asking, "Like, on the lips?"

Levy shook her head. "No… on the cheek… well probably more like the jaw…"

Lucy stared, "Wh-what did he say?"

Levy covered her face with her hands again. "I don't know! I ran inside before I could even see his face! I just got so nervous…"

Lucy ran to the window and looked out. "Lu chan he's not still _there_, he wouldn't just stand there like an idiot!" On the other hand…. Levy got up and ran to the window too. Nothing. Levy plopped back down on the bed, hiding her face again. "Oh, Lu chan what am I going to _do_?"

Lucy sat down beside her and thought. "Uhm… wait and see what happens?"

Levy whined and curled up into a ball. "Why did I have to do that? Everything was so perfect and now he might not want to see me again!"

Lucy rolled her eyes. "I _highly_ doubt that. C'mon! We'll eat ice cream and have a _proper_ sleepover!"

So the girls ate ice cream and talked about their respective idiots… and what on earth they were going to do with them.

XXXXxxxx

Gajeel arrived at his house, his thoughts still a pile of mush. He opened the door to find Lily sitting on the couch waiting for him…. Again.

Lily looked up to see his partner enter in through the door, only to notice that he looked… "Wow, Gajeel, you look…" he didn't know what the iron dragonslayer looked like. He was just staring blankly ahead like no thought had touched his mind in… ever. So Lily took the other approach. "What _happened_?"

Gajeel looked at his cat, confused, and smacked his hand to his cheek. Then he pulled his hand away and stared at it, as if whatever was on his cheek now transferred to his hand. He furrowed his eyebrows and then, like a madman, yelled at it. "The _hell_?"

Lily stared at his friend, obviously lost and confused, and flew over to him. Landing on Gajeel's shoulder, he asked "Alright Gajeel, what did Levy do to break your brain today."

Guided by Lily, Gajeel went to the couch and sat down. "She… _kissed_ me…"

Lily raised an eyebrow. "On the lips?"

Gajeel looked at his cat. "N-no… on the cheek. Well, more like jaw… she's short."

Lily rolled his eyes. "For Mavis's sake, Gajeel! She didn't even kiss you on the mouth and you're acting like your brain fell out!"

"Sh-shut up cat!" Gajeel growled. "I don't know how the hell I'm supposed to react to that!"

"Well," Lily began. "How exactly _did _you react Gajeel?"

"I couldn't! She ran inside before I could do anything!" Gajeel ran his fingers through his hair, women gave him such a headache…

"And then you just stood there like an idiot, didn't you?" Lily asked.

"D-don't judge me!" Gajeel jumped up and pointed an accusing finger at his cat. He then stormed off to the kitchen to munch on iron to clear his head.

Lily sighed. He was going to have to fix this, wasn't he? "Gajeel!" Pantherlily flew into the kitchen after his iron roommate and landed on the table beside him. Gajeel was shoving random scraps of iron into his mouth and refused to look at the cat. "Gajeel what are you going to do when you see her again, hmm?"

Gajeel looked up from his iron, gripping the piece that he held so tightly that it squished in his hand. "I-I don't know! How the hell am I supposed to know what to do?" Gajeel shouted, popping the squished piece of iron into his mouth.

Lily looked up at him. "Well, you _could_ kiss her back…"

Gajeel choked on the hunk of iron. "Wh-What?!"

**AN: Tada! Hope it was worth the wait, sorry if there's any typos or anything, I didn't proof read it.**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Here's another chapter for you! Hopefully I'll be able to get some more updates in before school starts. Once school starts again, I'll be gone every Saturday because I'm on the Speech Team at my high school, so Sundays are for homework. Thanks to everyone for being so patient and encouraging with your reviews. Here's the next chapter!**

Levy sat in the guild, waiting for Gajeel to show up. Her mind was racing with frantic thoughts of "_What am I going to do when I see him?" _and _"Oh, Mavis! What if he doesn't want to talk to me?"_ It's safe to say that Levy was having at least a minor panic attack, as she pretended to listen to Jet and Droy babble on about who knows what.

"Levy?" Jet asked. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Droy continued. "You're kind of spacing out…"

"Huh?" Levy turned to looked at her teammates' concerned faces. "Oh. S-sorry guys." She turned back to look at the guild door, with a worried expression on her face.

Jet and Droy shared a look, before turning back to Levy, both wondering what in Fiore could have her so worried.

The guild door flung open and Gajeel stormed in, nothing unusual so far. Levy blushed and looked down at the table. Gajeel walked over to the mission board and grabbed a mission, not even bothering to try and read the description. Still, nothing was out of the ordinary. Then Gajeel walked over to the Shadow Gear table… Neither Gajeel nor Levy was making eye contact.

Over at the bar, Lily was eating a kiwi and talking to Mira. He pointed over to where Gajeel was talking to Levy. "Watch this."

"Why?" Mira asked, confused.

"You'll see." He replied with an evil smirk.

"Oi, Bookworm," Gajeel started, his eyes on the other side of the room. "Lil and I are going on a mission for a few days, so we'll have another lesson when I get back, okay?" He rushed through the words and glanced at her for a moment, but when their eyes met, they both looked away.

Levy blushed when their eyes met and turned away. "Uhm, y-yeah. That's fine, Gajeel."

During this exchange, Jet and Droy glanced between each other, and the two guild mates talking beside them…. Why was this so… _weird_?

"Uh, alright then." Gajeel plopped a hand down on Levy's head to muss up her hair. "See ya 'round then Shrimp." Their eyes met and his hand lingered in her hair for a moment. He leaned slightly forward, as if he were going to…

Gajeel snapped his hand back and turned sharply before walking out of the guild. The Shadow Gear table was silent, Levy watching Gajeel leave.

At the bar, Mira turned to Pantherlily. "What just happened?"

Lily sighed. "Nothing. Stupid dragon didn't take my advice."

Mira's face lit up with excitement, "Wait! What did you tell him?"

Lily looked at the barmaid, debating whether or not to tell her. "Never mind Mira. See you later!" Lily shouted as he flew off after Gajeel.

Mira turned back to the Shadow Gear table. What happened? She had to know!

Jet and Droy exchanged another confused look before Jet turned back to Levy and asked, "Okay, why was that awkward?" They both knew that Levy had a crush on the iron dragonslayer, but what just happened was… _weird_.

They received no answer, because Levy suddenly stood up with a determined look on her face, and followed Gajeel out of the guild.

"Gajeel!" Levy shouted once she was outside.

Gajeel turned around and Lily flew off ahead… but not so far that he couldn't see or hear what happened next. "What is it Shrimp?"

"Uhm…" Levy started, but blushed and looked down. "I-I just wanted to apologize for yesterday… I just-"

Gajeel listened to hear start to make a flustered apology. No one was watching, well, other than Lily. So, he took Lily's advice. He had to bend down quite a bit, because she was short, but he kissed her. On the cheek, but a kiss all the same. Gajeel straightened up and watched the blush spread brighter across her cheeks. He smirked, "No worries Bookworm. See you when I get back, okay?" He turned and sauntered away.

Levy pressed a hand to her cheek and nodded. "Aa." She smiled softly.

Lily flew down and landed on Gajeel's shoulder.

"Shut up cat." Gajeel growled out.

"I said nothing." Lily smirked.

"Yeah, but I could hear you thinking it."

Lily grinned wider, "Don't be ridiculous Gajeel, you can't hear people's thoughts." So Lily began to tell Gajeel exactly what he was thinking.

XXXXxxxx

Mira watched and waited for Levy to come back in. When the guild doors opened, Levy was standing there with a small smile and a slight blush on her cheeks. Mira seemed to suddenly appear beside the tiny bookworm. She grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her to the bar. "Emergency girl conference!" She shouted so that several of the Fairy Tail women rushed to the bar to hear the latest gossip.

"M-mira! What are you-" Levy was sat down onto a bar stool, now surrounded by a drunk Cana, a curious Juvia, a grinning Lucy, and an evil-smirking Mira. They were all staring at her intently.

A cry rose up from the Shadow Gear table. "Levy chan has been taken away from us!" They whined. They wanted to know too! But good luck getting close enough to the "girl conference" to eavesdrop without Mira killing you first…

"Alright, spill." Mira had her chin resting on her hands, and her elbows on the bar.

"Wh-what?" Levy blushed and tried to avoid all the eyes watching her.

"Tell us what happened between you and Gajeel!" Lucy exclaimed.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about…" Levy began, only to be interrupted by Mira again.

"If you don't tell us…" Mira's evil smile grew. "I'll have to have Cana make something up."

Levy looked at the half-drunk woman sitting on the bar next to her, still chugging a barrel of wine. Cana put the barrel down on the bar between her legs. "I think…" She drawled out. "That you and Gajeel are having a secret love affair with lots of hot, steamy-"

Levy blushed fire red and covered her ears. "St-Stop! It's not like that! Really!"

Cana smirked with pride. "So then tell us how it _really_ is then."

Levy recounted everything that happened. Everything she could remember that either of them said. Everything she could remember that either of them did. And the girls were giddy with excitement.

Mira squealed as she jumped up and down. "He likes you! He definitely likes you!" She turned to the other girls. "What should we do?"

"N-no!" Levy exclaimed. "Please, Mira, _don't_ do anything to meddle, okay?"

Juvia, who had been silent until now, finally spoke. "Juvia agrees. Gajeel kun has trouble expressing his emotions, so Mira should let him move at his own pace."

Levy sighed. "Thank you, Juvia."

"Oh? So we're going to take romantic advice from the stalker now?" Cana grinned.

"Juvia is not a stalker!" Juvia slapped her hands on the bar table.

Cana just winked at her before taking another sip from her barrel. "I do agree with her though, we shouldn't meddle." She looked pointedly at Mira. "That means you."

Lucy sighed. "I hate to admit it Mira, but they're right. If we meddle, it might make things worse."

Levy smiled, but Mira pouted. "Not even a _little _bit of meddling?"

"NO!" The rest of the girls said unanimously.

**AN: Hope this little bit tides you over until the next chapter! Hope you enjoyed, but either way, please review? And don't worry, they WILL kiss for real eventually… or WILL they? *puts on evil face* Just kidding… they will!**


	7. Chapter 7

Gajeel walked through the guild doors, tired from his mission. He sat down at the bar and looked around the guild, but he was looking for someone in particular. Her. He had thought about her a lot on his mission. A LOT. Mostly, because Lily had asked him a LOT of questions.

_"What are you going to do about her?" _

_ He didn't know._

_ "You have feelings for her don't you?"_

_ NO. Maybe. He didn't know._

_ "Well, you kissed her didn't you?"_

_ Yes. Kinda. Did that count? He didn't know._

_ "Well, do you want to kiss her again or not?"_

_ Yes. NO. He didn't know!_

_ "What do you mean you don't KNOW?"_

_ He didn't KNOW. He wanted her. But he couldn't have her, right?_

_ "Why not?"_

_ Because… He'd hurt her once already, right? So he was bound to do it again, right?_

_ "And you're not willing to take that chance? To trust yourself that you won't hurt her?"_

_ Yes. No. Wait. What?_

_ "You're not going to hurt her, Gajeel. Surely you must know that you care about her too much to do that?"_

_ Silence._

_ "And if you say you don't know one more time…"_

_ He didn't KNOW, okay? He just… didn't know._

"She's not here." His thoughts were interrupted by Mira standing behind him, polishing a glass. "She went on a mission with Jet and Droy. She should be back tomorrow."

Gajeel huffed. "I didn't ask." He turned away from her.

Mira frowned. "If you _hurt_ her, Gajeel Redfox, I'll-"

Wrong thing to say. Gajeel looked at her sharply. "Don't worry Demon, I ain't gonna do anything." He stood up. He didn't have to listen to this from her too. He knew already.

"That's exactly my point, Gajeel." Mira stopped him.

Wait, what? "What the hell're you talking about?"

Mira put the glass down and put her hands on her hips. "I'm saying that you'll hurt her if you _don't_ do anything Gajeel." Mira sighed. "Just… don't push her away, okay?"

Gajeel glared at her, turned and walked out of the guild.

Push her away so that he couldn't hurt her, or hurt her by pushing her away? Wait, does either of those even make any sense? HE JUST DIDN'T KNOW!

XXXXxxxx

Levy entered the guild the next morning. She had come home late from her mission and went straight to bed because she was _exhausted._ When she entered the guild, her eyes were searching for one person. Not that she had to look hard, he was in his usual corner, sulking. She smiled slightly; she wouldn't really expect anything less of him. She sat down beside him at the bar, smiling. Smiling at _him_.

"Hello Gajeel! How was your mission?"

He looked at her smiling face and shrugged. "Fine. Yours?"

Her grin widened. "Great!"

And she started talking about her mission. How nice the old man was. How evil the dark mages were. How bravely Jet and Droy fought. How tired she was when she got back. He could listen to her talk like this for hours. He wasn't good at talking, but she was, so he just sat and listened.

"So…" She seemed to be thinking about something. "I guess we'll just have to have your lessons here from now on. I'd have you come to Fairy Hills, but I don't think Erza would like that very much…"

"Nonsense." Lily flew over and landed on the bar between the two. Gajeel muttered something about 'eavesdropping cats' before Lily continued. "You can have the lessons at our house."

"R-really?" Levy looked skeptically at the iron dragonslayer before her. "Are you sure that's okay, Gajeel?"

Gajeel shrugged. "It's fine, Shrimp. Lily made me clean up the place yesterday so you won't trip and kill yourself on anything sharp." He grinned and Levy couldn't help but notice that his teeth were… sharp.

"Oh. Okay then!" Levy smiled and grabbed her bag of books. "Shall we then?"

Lily flew off in the lead, followed closely by Levy and then Gajeel beside her.

XXXXxxxx

There was a lot of iron. Granted, she should have expected that. But, since he said that he had cleaned up, she had thought the place would be moderately, well, _clean_. It wasn't. It seemed like everything was made of iron. The furniture was either made out of or supported by metal, the decorations (what few he had) were lined with iron and there were metal scraps and contraptions lying…. Everywhere.

"W-wow, Gajeel…" Levy looked around in amusement.

"I know." Lily hopped off Gajeel's shoulder. "It's still really messy." The cat then walked out of the room towards the kitchen.

"Is not!" Gajeel shouted. "It's perfectly fine!"

Lily and Levy both rolled their eyes. "Alright Gajeel let's get started." Levy smiled and sat down on the couch, Gajeel sitting beside her. Levy put her books on the table and selected one out of the stack. "I think you're ready to try something, Gajeel." She handed the small book to him.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Seriously?"

She nodded. "Just try reading it, okay?"

He looked at the cover. He recognized these letters! "Jake. The…. Dog."

Levy smiled. "Keep going."

Gajeel sighed and opened it to the first page. "See. The. Dog." So far so good, next page. "See the dog… run." Next page… "See the dog run….fast." Next page! "The dog's…. name?" He looked at Levy for approval, and she nodded. "The dog's name is Jake."

"You're doing great, Gajeel!" Levy was grinning like a proud teacher would.

He turned back to the next page. "Jake is a dog." Next. "Jake has a…" He looked back to Levy.

"Friend." She answered.

"Jake has a friend." Okay, good. Next page. "His… friend's… name. Is Finn." Gajeel looked back to Levy. "What the hell kind of story is this?"

Levy frowned. "Just keep going!"

Gajeel sighed. Next page. "Finn is a… human." Well duh! Next page. "Finn and Jake…" Gajeel looked back to Levy for help.

"Just try sounding it out." She encouraged.

Gajeel furrowed his brows in concentration and glared at the page. "Finn and Jake… rake?" He looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

She giggled. "Close. It's race, with an 's' sound."

"Oh." Gajeel frowned. "Okay, so Finn and Jake _race_. Makes more sense." Next page. "Jake. Wins. The race." Next page… "Jake is a fast dog." Didn't they say that already? Next page. "Finn…." He glanced at Levy who gave him an encouraging nod. "L-loooaaaves?"

She smiled up at him, amusement shining in her eyes. "Loves, Gajeel. It's loves."

"Oh. Right. Finn…loves… Jake." The hell? Why was his heart beating faster! It's just a word! He turned the page over sharply. "The. End." He looked at her while she looked at him. She was grinning like a madwoman. "What?"

She smiled wider. "Gajeel…. You just read! You read your first book!" She squealed and was nearly bouncing with excitement.

He rolled his eyes and looked away from her. "Tch. Dumbest book ever." Not like he'd know…

But she didn't care that he insulted the book. She through her arms around his neck and… _hugged him._ "I'm so proud of you!"

He was tempted to push her off of him. But she was so… warm. And soft. And small. So instead, he put one hand between her shoulder blades and the other on the small of her back. He pulled her a tiny bit closer. He was going to say that it wasn't a big deal. Instead, he ended up saying, "Thanks Bookworm".

She pulled her arms back, smiling at him, but then realized their position. She was basically sitting on his lap. She blushed and jumped up, gathering her belongings, leaving a few books similar to the one he just read on the coffee table. "U-uhm, I have to go now, but j-just look at those and see if you can read them. O-okay? A-and we'll work on more tomorrow."

Wait, she was leaving already? How long did it take him to finish that one stupid book!? He nodded and watched her as she shouted her goodbyes to Lily, waved and left. He picked up the books and started to read them. They were dumb, pointless stories, but each one got easier to read. He read as it got late into the evening, at some point Lily sat on his shoulder. At some point it started to rain, to storm even. And at some point, somebody knocked on the door. And then they knocked again.

Gajeel sighed, put the book down, and stood up, disrupting Lily from his slumber. He stormed over to the door and swung it open. The figure was shadowed in darkness and rain. When the lightning struck he could make out who it was, but it wouldn't have mattered. He would recognize this scent anywhere. Still, his eyes widened in surprise to see her here. "Juvia?"

**AN: What? No kiss? I know… not yet… but they had an awkward hug! And then suddenly… Juvia. Next chapter has GajeelxJuvia friendship and more GaLe fluff! Fear not fans! Their kiss will come! Eventually… Review Please?**


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